What Is Your Busy Schedule Doing to Your Marriage?

I was always running "just a few minutes behind" (meaning I was always late) and arriving in a
bit of a fluff. That was during my single years, and then wouldn't you know it, I married a man who
had never been late to a thing in his life.

My late tendencies were caused by my overly busy schedule and by my inability to say no when asked to add to my busyness. And then my husband, Mark,
and I had children — five sons to be exact. My tardiness was multiplied times five because I
now had five more schedules to juggle.

One day I arrived very late to a meeting Mark and I
were scheduled to attend. Apparently my list of tasks was too long, and I misjudged what I could
accomplish before the meeting.

As I walked through the door, I could see Mark was upset. He
looked at me and said, "You know, Alli, being late isn't cute. It's a lack of respect for other
people and their time. It's like saying you are more important than them and your to-do list is more
important than theirs."

Whoa. I hadn't realized that my tardiness was telling my husband that
I didn't respect him. That's when I recognized that the schedule I'd allowed to take over my family
life was wreaking havoc on my marriage.

Mark and I rarely had time for just the two of us.
We were always coming and going in different directions. And because we weren't connecting
regularly, the tiniest little argument seemed to blow up into a major battle between us.

I
knew I had to refocus my priorities, so I made a goal to break the busyness in my life and the life
of my family. And I did it with two simple steps.

Step one: I made a stop-doing list.

I was doing a lot of things, such as agreeing to every volunteer request that came my way and
signing up my kids for all kinds of extracurricular activities. I was trying to be supermom at the
expense of being a good wife.

I knew there was a lot I had to stop doing, so I made a
"stop-doing list." Then I realized that my kids' busy schedule was also a huge contributing factor
to the lack of focus on my marriage, so I made a stop-doing list for them, too.

To make my
stop-doing list, I asked myself two questions: What is sucking the life out of me right now? Does
this activity help or hurt my family?

The answers to these two questions required that I
look at life in a very honest way. In answering truthfully and then making the difficult but
necessary changes, I refocused on my marriage. You, too, can refocus.

Step two: I gave myself permission to say no.

I can't remember how many times I've said yes to things I knew I didn't
want to do, I didn't have time to do, and I knew would add stress to my life and my marriage.

I've had to learn to say no so we can say yes to a better, less busy life. The change in my
schedule ultimately allowed a change in my attitude toward my husband. My new motto became "Better
life, better wife!"

When I finally managed to get rid of the unnecessary busyness in my life,
I was able to add in other things such as exercising, cooking healthier meals and spending unhurried
time with God. (Trust me, these things make you a better wife.) I also had the time to be
intentional about my relationship with my husband.

Your husband deserves the best you, and
the best you doesn't come with a crazy busy schedule. Consider breaking the busyness in your own
life before the busyness breaks you.

Alli Worthington is a business coach, the executive director of Propel Women and the author of Breaking Busy.

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This article first appeared in the February/March 2017 issue of Focus on the Family magazine and was originally titled "Break Busy ... Before It Breaks You." If you enjoyed this article, read more like it in Focus on the Family's marriage and parenting magazine. Get this publication delivered to your home by subscribing to it for a gift of any amount.